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Three people were killed Friday when a plane crashed near Zephyrhills.

Pilot Thomas Long, 44, and Alachua residents Tina Copeland, 46, and her daughter Cami, 7, were the only passengers, according to a Pasco County Sheriff's Office press release.

They left Gainesville in a single-engine plane and were about 20 miles north of their destination in Lakeland when Long said they had an emergency, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen.

Air traffic control directed the plane to the nearest airport in Zephyrhills but lost contact with the pilot with three miles to go, Bergen said. The wreckage was found three-quarters of a mile from the airport. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating the cause of the crash.

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